Consultancy, training and expertise for social enterprise and the third sector.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

The speed of light is slower than you think...

I was reading recently about a new radio telescope that will be able to see the light generated by the first stars in the universe when they originally formed. It’ll have taken several billion years for us to be able to see this event, even though it’s been travelling at the speed of light!

Very often we expect instant results – if we register a company, we’ll instantly be awarded contracts; or, if we form a charity, we’ll instantly be awarded a huge grant from the Lottery. We’ll be able to generate a surplus within the first year, we’ll be supporting scores of people into employment by this time next month ... But invariably this doesn’t happen. Because things take time.

We increasingly assume (consciously or otherwise, and likely because of ‘encouragements’ we receive from other agencies and bodies around us), that every action and decision we make will generate an immediate re-action. But we forget that actions and reactions, by their very definition and nature, will change accepted norms. We’re creatures of habit, drawing comfort and reassurance from those things that are familiar and therefore comfortable (even more so in these turbulent times). New things will take time for people to get used to them. Your new enterprise will need time to be understood and accepted by the wider world before commissioners award it contracts, or it’s successful in its bids for grants.

So – just because you feel you’re moving at the speed of light, remember that the rest of the world needs a bit of time to catch up with you; try and be patient...

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Welcome to my blog!

many hold me in high esteem with regard to my knowledge and insight into social enterprises, co-operatives and the wider third sector (civil society?), hence the address of this, my blog, being so modest.As well as updating my experiences, thoughts, arguments and other random ideas here, you can also visit my main website from this link - www.adrianashton.co.uk